My Break Up Letter: American Idol

Dear American Idol,

We've had a good run. We used to go on 2, 3,4 dates a week. We'd laugh, we'd cry. Sometimes I'd shake my head in disbelief. I even giggled when you had William Hung sing Ricky Martin. I'll admit it was pretty funny. I feel like we hit it off from the beginning. 9 Years. That's longer than my husband and I have been together.

But last year, you dissapointed me. I tried to watch. I really wanted to. But you took Paula out of the mix. Don't try to fight it, she was fantastic. Regardless if she was off her rocker, her clap and useless information really made it work. Kara. No thanks. She tried too hard. Ellen? Love her - but she has no say on a musical thing,but for Idol. Randy? - I'll take it. Simon - the show couldn't survive without him.

Now looking to year 10 - No Simon, No Paula, No Kara. Just Randy? What the heck! Maybe it's time to pack it up. Then rumors of Bret Michaels (there's a love hate relationship there) and Steven Tyler ( again, love him, but whaaaaaaa???) what is Idol coming to?

So sad, that I passed up club box seats last night to see the Idol Tour. Free tickets. Free beer. Free food. What did I say? No thanks. AHH! And I'm glad b/c my MIL, who religiously goes every year, said it wasn't good.

So there we have it. We're done. The end. Good luck in season 10,  it's time to move on.

Love,

I Think I Married Bob Villa

I married a mechanical engineer. When a mechanical engineer doesn't like what he sees in a retail setting, he makes it himself. This was the case 6 months ago. Jeff was on the quest for an entertainment center that would go into his man cave. We hunted and hunted, and just came up with ready to assemble particle board items. So, what did my lovely husband do? He decided he was going to build it from scratch. So with the world of my father-in-law, he built a 100% wood entertainment center, with drawers, shelves and a cooling system to keep all of his components from over heating.

This was a labor of love. He would work hours an hours, and then not touch it for a month. So, tonight he's finally finish. 4 coats of stain, 2 coats of poly. We're done! I have to say I'm pretty impressed with his handy work.  Now that he's proven himself, he now wants to build cabinets for the kitchen.

If it took 6 months for an entertainment center, I may not get cabinets for years!

Date Night!

Saturday night, Jeff and I went to BARcelona. If you're not familiar with the fabulousness, it's a tapas bar in Clayton.  Last year, I had helped out my buddy Chelsea with volunteering at the Alive Magazine Men of Style event at Saks. Basically, I tried my hand as a waitress running tastey treats down an escalator in brand new heels. I was told I'd be manning a bar pouring wine. Not so much. So, for my efforts, they gave me a thank you gift card to BARcelona. Great thing is I found my St. Louis chef crush, Eric Brenner, who used to own Moxy before they closed. Now he in the Executive Chef at Molly's in Soulard. He's gorgeous and so rock in roll.

So, almost 9 months later, I finally convinced my lovely husband to go. I was so pumped because I got a fantastic black drapey dress at Loft for $4.88, and he actually wore something other than a t-shirt and cargo shorts. After a quick trip to the Galleria to pick up a pair of shorts at Banana, we were on our way. I would reccomend reservations on a Saturday night, it was hopping! They are on Open Table, so you don't even have to call to make a reservation.

Since the concept of tapas is trying lots of things, we got 5 things:

• Queso de Cabra al Horno – Baked goat cheese in tomato sauce with garlic bread.
• Pincho de Pollo y Chorizo – Chicken and chorizo skewer with cumin alioli.

• Solomillo con Cabrales – Grilled beef tenderloin with blue cheese, spinach and a Rioja reduction sauce.
• Brécol Rioja – Sauteed broccolini with sundried tomatoes and garlic.

• Gambas al Alioli – Garlic shrimp with chili oil and fresh lemon.

We agreed the best was the goat cheese. It was fantastic!  I kept forgetting to take photos of each thing. I would forget after it was already gone. Doh!The Sangria was fantastic too. We even had room for dessert and shared churros and creme brulee.

Overall, you had 2 happy campers! Awesome date night!

 

Different Direction

I don't watch a lot of commercials, but I LOVE this one.

I feel like someone got into my brain and created a commercial

Do you ever feel like you need a different direction?